Siemens customers’ CO2 savings rise to 210 million tons in 2009
November 10, 2009
In fiscal 2009, Siemens generated revenue of €23 billion with products and solutions from its Environmental Portfolio. The green portfolio has grown by 11 percent by comparison with fiscal 2008, when its revenue – calculated on a comparable basis – totaled just €20.7 billion. In fiscal 2009, energy-saving motors, solar inverter systems and selected components for energy-saving building technology were among the products added to the portfolio. “Our green products and solutions are contributing to stabilizing our business during the economic crisis,” said Barbara Kux, Chief Sustainability Officer and Member of the Siemens Managing Board. The company already indicated that Siemens’ total revenue for 2009 was expected to be approximately equivalent to that of fiscal 2008.
In fiscal 2009, Siemens customers worldwide were able to reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by a total of 210 million tons with products and solutions from the Siemens Environmental Portfolio – which the company first defined in 2007. This amount is equal to the annual CO2 emissions of New York, Tokyo, London and Berlin put together. In the previous year, the cumulative savings amounted to the equivalent of 160 million tons. In fiscal 2011, the annual CO2 savings are projected to total at least 300 million tons, which roughly corresponds to the current emissions of six major cities – New York, Tokyo, London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Rome.
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Energy Star: EU Commission and the US reinforce the energy efficiency standards for displays
November 9, 2009
The European Commission and the US Environmental Protection Agency have agreed yesterday to adopt new ambitious specifications for displays under the EU-US Energy Star Programme. The new criteria are effective as of today, and are expected to trigger about 9 TWh electricity savings during the next five years in the EU which is comparable to the annual electricity consumption of households in Bulgaria. Energy Star is part of the EU’s strategy to better manage energy demand, contribute to security of energy supply and mitigate climate change.
“Energy Star is a good example of successful energy efficiency cooperation with the US, delivering concrete energy and CO 2 savings worldwide, while saving citizens’ and enterprises’ money. The new criteria are an important step towards our energy efficiency and climate protection targets “, said Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
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Eneco obtains concept permits for 2 offshore wind farms
November 8, 2009
The Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management has granted Eneco concept permits for the construction of two offshore wind farms. This offers two Eneco divisions – both New Energy and Evelop – the prospect of realising an offshore wind farm. Both divisions have already gained experience with the construction and maintenance of the Princess Amalia Wind Farm off the coast of the city of IJmuiden, which became operational in 2007 and performs optimally.
The permits that have now been granted for wind farms at strategic positions in the North Sea are an important step towards the realisation of Eneco’s sustainability objectives. Jeroen de Haas, chairman of Eneco’s Board of Management, is pleased that the permits have been obtained: “Eneco is now able to build on its experience and continue the development of offshore wind farms. The acquisition of Evelop a few months ago proves to be a positive addition to our organisation. This is the first tangible result of a profitable cooperation between both teams.”
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New EU-US Energy Council to boost transatlantic energy cooperation
November 7, 2009
A new EU-US Energy Council was launched this week in Washington. The meeting brought together the Commissioners for Energy, Andris Piebalgs, External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Research, Janez Potočnik, with the US Secretary for Energy Steven Chu and US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg to launch the EU-US Energy Council. The EU-US Energy Council will provide a new framework for deepening the transatlantic dialogue on strategic energy issues such as security of supply or policies to move towards low carbon energy sources while strengthening the ongoing scientific collaboration on energy technologies.
“The Energy Council is a timely initiative in the context of growing global concerns on energy security and the important role that the energy sector has in climate change. Elevating these discussions between us to a political level underscores the importance we both attach to this area of our relationship”, said Commissioner Piebalgs.
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18 largest turbines in Poland started generating electricity
November 3, 2009
RWE has completed the final stage of Suwalki Wind Farm investment. After the installation of towers, nacelles, blades, rotors and generators, the time has come to put the turbines on-stream. Commissioning of the wind turbines will increase Poland’s wind energy generation by around 10% in comparison to 2008.
Each 100 metre-high tower has an almost 93 metre-diameter rotor installed. The power of the wind turbines will allow annual production of at least 80 million kilowatt hours of electricity, avoiding atmospheric emissions of around 80 thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Construction of wind farms is very important to the Polish renewable energy market. As the Polish legislation is streamlined with EU directives, the demand for renewable energy is growing rapidly – from 5.8 TWh in 2007, to the expected 13.4 TWh in 2010, that is respectively 5.1% and 10.4% of energy sold to end users.
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Electrolux, Enel, Indesit and Telecom Italia: Energy@Home smart energy management
November 2, 2009
Electrolux, Enel, Indesit and Telecom Italia have signed an agreement to study and develop innovative services based on communications between the next generation Electrolux and Indesit appliances, Enel’s remote management infrastructure – which allows remote control and management of power consumption – and the fixed and mobile broadband infrastructure of Telecom Italia.
The purpose of the “Energy@Home” initiative is to develop a system in which “smart appliances” will be able to manage themselves by adjusting power consumption of the entire house, thereby avoiding consumption peaks and overloads.
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EU 30% carbon emissions target: achievable and affordable
November 2, 2009
The European Union can achieve a 30% cut in greenhouse gas emissions at practically zero net cost. Simply replacing all energy-related equipment at the end of its economic life with low-carbon technologies, paid for thanks to lower energy bills, could almost halve the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions within two decades.
This is the conclusion of SERPEC-CC (Sectoral Emission Reduction Potentials and Economic Costs for Climate Change), a comprehensive two-year study that closely examined 650 relevant technologies across ten major sectors. The study was coordinated by Ecofys, a consultancy firm in the field of sustainable energy and climate change. The study’s publication comes on the eve of the European Council meeting at which European heads of state will meet to discuss cuts to the EU’s carbon emissions.
Figure: European greenhouse gas abatement cost curve for 650 technologies in 2030, aggregated into clusters. The abatement potential in 2030 (X-axis) is relative to emission levels resulting from a frozen technology pathway (baseline: 2005). The Y-axis shows the specific societal costs of abatement.
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Joint venture DII established for DESERTEC concept
November 1, 2009
A unique industry initiative to develop a reliable, sustainable and climate-friendly energy supply from the deserts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is now taking shape. In Munich the articles of association for the DII GmbH (limited liability company) are signed by the group of founding members consisting of twelve companies and the DESERTEC Foundation. The DII aims at accelerated implementation of the DESERTEC concept, as proposed by the DESERTEC Foundation. This work of the DII will entail a thorough analysis and the establishment of a framework for investments to supply the MENA region and Europe with power produced using solar and wind energy sources. The long-term goal is to satisfy a substantial part of the energy needs of the MENA countries and meet as much as 15% of Europe’s electricity demand by 2050.
The DII shareholder meeting has appointed Paul van Son as CEO of the DII. Over a period of about 30 years Mr. van Son has held various management posts in the European energy industry, including Managing Director of Deutsche Essent (Germany) and Econcern (Netherlands). These companies have earned a reputation as developers of renewable energy and energy efficiency programs. Mr. van Son is also Chairman of the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET) and Chairman of the Energy4All Foundation which is active in Africa.
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Solar Cell developed with World’s Highest Conversion Efficiency of 35.8%
October 26, 2009
The world’s highest solar cell conversion efficiency of 35.8% using a triple-junction compound solar cell haas been achieved by the Japanese Sharp Corporation. When these cells will hit the market Sharp hasn’t indicated. It can be expected that additional research effort is necessary.
In comparison to the ‘regular’ efficiency of silicon-based solar cells – which is about 15% – these new cells are more than twice as efficient. The higher efficiency means that PV-systems can be smaller and still produce as much electricity. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the PV-systems will become cheaper. Read more »
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Enel Green Power signs agreement for the acquisition of renewables operations in Greece
October 25, 2009
Yesterday, Enel Green Power signed an agreement for the acquisition of two subsidiaries of the Domiki Crete and ATESE Groups (hereinafter: “the Groups”) in Greece, namely:
1) “Aioliko Voskerou S.A.”, with an operational 5.95 MW wind park located in the Prefecture of Heraklion (Crete) as well as the company’s pipeline.
2) “Aioliko Koukoulona S.A.”, with an installation license of a 5 MW wind park in the Prefecture of Rethymnon, in Crete.
Following this agreement, Enel Green Power’s installed capacity in the country will exceed 133 MW from the current 127 MW.
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